Business administrator tells council federal cuts delayed city budget; members request budget committee meeting
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Summary
Business Administrator Eric Pennington told the council that the city has lost federal funds (including about $1 million and another $6 million recently) and that complications from federal reductions have delayed delivery of the city budget. Council members asked to schedule a budget committee meeting and sought regular updates.
During the May 6 pre‑meeting, council members asked when they would receive the city’s proposed budget. Multiple council members said the budget had been promised months earlier and pressed the administration for a timeline.
Eric Pennington, Business Administrator, told the council staff were still working with the budget director and that the department had been delayed by recent federal actions that pulled funds from the city. Pennington said the city had lost about $6 million the prior week and an additional $1 million the day before, and that certain CDBG funds were at risk. He said those changes required additional adjustments before staff could present a balanced budget.
"We are working through to make sure that we can give you a budget that is gonna be doable and make sense," Pennington said, adding that staff would continue to work diligently and requested a budget committee meeting so council members could receive detailed updates and avoid repeated public questioning at council meetings.
Council members asked that the full council’s budget committee be reconstituted or clarified so the body could meet without forming a quorum of the full council when detailed budget briefings were required. The clerk agreed to schedule a budget meeting.
Why it matters: the city’s operating budget determines near‑term spending priorities, staffing, and service levels. Council members expressed urgency because the calendar approaches the start of the fiscal month and because federal reductions change assumptions in the draft budget.
What comes next: the clerk was asked to schedule a budget meeting with staff; Pennington said staff will provide updates and work to deliver the budget as soon as possible.